Wrestlers...Natural Advantage?

I'm just wondering what you guys think and maybe this has been posted already...I'm starting training and am beginning with some boxing and some jiu jitsu, but having a fairly good amateur wrestling background, will this help me out pretty decently or will it not affect my style at all?

THE_DRiZzLE

1/28/08 1:23:38AM

well i'm no expert, but it shouldn't hurt.. most likely will depend on your ability to adapt imo..

Iowa91CamaroRS

1/28/08 1:26:18AM

I mean it i know it will help with my take downs, but vertically i'll need help and hopefully the boxing will help...but a big thing will be trying not to get on my stomach...i don't know, but i'm excited to learn...i think i'll need to pick a better place to train tho

Kracker_Jap

1/28/08 1:33:28AM

I'm a long time amature wrestler Freestyle greco, colegant..... I think the best thing other than skill wrestling can teach you is work ethic.....

And I know that there are plenty of all around mma guys that train hard but in wresltling the sport has generations of experiance handed down from coach to student... bla bla wrestlers are the best period and yes we have the advantage

THE_DRiZzLE

1/28/08 1:36:00AM

Posted by Kracker_Jap

I'm a long time amature wrestler Freestyle greco, colegant..... I think the best thing other than skill wrestling can teach you is work ethic.....

And I know that there are plenty of all around mma guys that train hard but in wresltling the sport has generations of experiance handed down from coach to student... bla bla wrestlers are the best period and yes we have the advantage

he makes good points..

Iowa91CamaroRS

1/28/08 2:25:44AM

Also most of my wrestling career in HS i've wrestled undersized...wrestling HWT (216-275) my senior year at a good 220, 215 my Junior year at 196, strength played a good factor in all these....my current weight is 245-250ish and i have a gut and i think i can cut down to 205 and fight pretty good in the LHW here in local events, but i don't know...i'm starting my diet now and have no plans to fight for at least 2-3 months, depending on how i feel at the time

I feel that being in the light heavy division can be a good step for me since I'll be a bigger guy at LHW than small in the HW, since it is inevitable that i will lose at least 15 lbs, when i start trainining without diet, but with my diet i think it'll be off in no time...any suggestions?

fullerene

1/28/08 8:40:17AM

For sub grappling I think wrestling is a huge advantage. Day 1 you'll get caught with the same stuff as any other noob but your learning curve will be greatly accelerated. Wrestlers come in with strong takedown games and usually learn sub defense very quickly. As long as you have an attitude to learn, I don't see any real downsides (besides little things like turning to your base on the bottom) to having a wrestling background.

On the negative side: boxing has a different (more paitent) pace, your head needs to be kept down, not up, many wrestlers are wide and have poor reach for their weight, some wrestlers carry too much muscle to maximize punching speed, like any athlete who was good at one sport, it's tough to accept that you'll be starting over and getting your butt kicked by guys you could throw around like rag dolls on the wrestling mat at first

madmarck

1/28/08 9:32:46AM

Big thing. Doing BJJ learn to pass guard. And learn it well. I know of a few wrestlers that starter grappling around the same time as me. They can never break my guard and they seem content to wait until a submission is thrown on them to pass. If you let someone be offensive from the bottom that can be a big mistake. Pay careful attenion to passing techniques. Maybe even view a few on youtube and then use em during sparring.

kMMAs

1/28/08 10:24:31AM

Excellent point about learning to pass the guard!

I have only been training BJJ for about six months, but i've noticed another thing about friends of mine with a wrestling background. I play a more open guard and in the begining the all seem to almost "spaz" in a way. Dont get me wrong they usually have solid power and smash me pretty good...but can end up getting swept or just use more energy than is necessary.

IMO they get better once they relax more when rolling. Granted everyone has their own style....but just a thought...

But as you asked...I think haveing a solid wrestling background is definatly a plus.

jomatty

1/29/08 3:58:52PM

wrestiling is a huge plus so long as the wrestler has an open mind. another poster made a good point about a lot of wrestlers spazzing and it makes em gas fast and makes them a pain to train with. nothing will teach you a great base for bjj or mma like wrestling will, just stay humble and hungry to learn.

KeNn

1/30/08 12:34:29AM

Of course, but I don't think it's a kick start to jiu jitsu or anything like some people will "claim".

I come from a boxing backround, and I still roll with champion wreslters in bjj that are same belt level and twist them up.

Also you can deffinately identify a wrestler in muay thai for the first couple of months.

But might I add, in a wrestling world they'd have a big advantage.So In ACTUAL MMA, wrestling will help your game, it's like another weapon to your arsenal.

madmarck

1/30/08 1:18:11PM

Wrestlers...Natural Advantage?

Yes they do. They have an advantage over guys who have the same amount of Submission expericne has them.

Its like haveing a guy go into Muay from Boxing. Sure he knows how to punch, but he still gotta learn how to kick.

roger

1/30/08 8:46:09PM

some time thay freak out if thay get on there back but for the modt part yes thay have an advantage

Iowa91CamaroRS

1/31/08 9:51:51PM

I'm sure that will be my natural reaction is to freak out when on my back, but hopefully with training in BJJ i should get used to it before my first fight....i haven't really done any power lifting yet, as I feel my strength is above average, i need to work on speed and i've been fighting myself in the mirror with a 5 lb weight in each hand to gain speed...and so far for conditioning i've done the eliptical running 20 minutes almost 3 miles, cuz running on a hard surface hurts my knee which has very little cartilage...what would you suggest as in maybe lifting for speed? and not losing strength as i drop weight